


Topsoil

by Piinutbutter



Category: Hylics (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Indirect Love Confessions, Multi, Worms, Xeno Reproduction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26676256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piinutbutter/pseuds/Piinutbutter
Summary: Dedusmuln's companions receive six squirmy, wriggling reminders that they don't know nearly as much about their dear scholar as they thought they did.
Relationships: Wayne/Somsnosa/Pongorma/Dedusmuln (Hylics)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58





	Topsoil

**Author's Note:**

> [Talk to me about Dedusworms.](https://yankee-am.tumblr.com/post/624716492672499712/heyyy-those-little-worms-that-crawled-out-of)

“I’m gonna break the door down,” Somsnosa announced. She stepped back and adjusted her gauntlets, rolling her shoulders with a look of fierce concentration.

“N-no need!” Dedusmuln’s frazzled voice came from behind the door. “I’ll open it. Just...give me a moment, please.”

Wayne sighed and felt Pongorma shift restlessly behind him. The three of them were crammed onto the front steps of Somsnosa’s beach house. Somsnosa spent most of her time at the ranch these days, so her house had become something of a getaway spot for any of the four when they needed a quiet break from adventuring. 

None of them would have batted an eyelash at Dedusmuln’s stay here. Except for the fact that Dedusmuln had been acting unusually cautious and erratic for a while before they ran off and locked themself inside Somsnosa’s place for several days, not emerging once. Followed by refusing to open the door when Pongorma had visited alone to check on them. 

So Pongorma had returned with reinforcements. Dedusmuln tended to keep their problems to themself. It was only natural for their companions to be worried, especially when Gibby had only recently been felled for a second time. His reincarnation had proved how easy it was for wicked people to force their wills on the innocent citizens of their Earth. Everyone was still a fair bit on edge.

“We just need to know if you’re okay,” Wayne called, rubbing the back of his head. He’d take Dedusmuln’s word if they said they were fine. Problem was, Dedusmuln was terrible at hiding things. They’d been dodging every question aimed through the door with stammered half-assurances that only made their friends all the more suspicious. 

“I am! I promise.” Dedusmuln’s response was muffled. “In fact, here. You can - oh, hold on. Let me...”

The shuffling sounds that came from behind the door hinted at a room being swiftly cleaned up. The three of them shuffled awkwardly while they waited. Wayne was pretty sure some sand had gotten into his boots.

Dedusmuln finally cracked the door and peeked their head out. They seemed flustered to see three pairs of eyes so intently focused on them. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” they muttered. “I didn’t intend to worry you. I simply needed...ah, well. Perhaps it would be better to let you see for yourselves. I’m sorry to ask this of you in your own home, Somsnosa, but...could you all please keep your voices down and watch your step when you come inside?”

The three of them agreed, with varying degrees of hesitation. They filed inside to the dimly-lit living room, Dedusmuln closing the door carefully behind them.

It didn’t take long to see what Dedusmuln was concerned about them stepping on. Six oversized worms squirmed around the room, leaving trails of pale green slime in their wake. 

All three of them had pretty much the same sentiment.

“Oh.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“I - I’m so sorry about the mess!” Dedusmuln said, dabbing a patch of slime off the couch cushions. Wayne didn’t know how they could find the slime among all the other stains that couch had sustained over the years. “I’ll do a deep clean after they grow out of the hatchling phase in a few days. They stop producing slime at that point.”

Somsnosa blinked a few times. “Dedus, I really don’t mind. You should’ve seen this place when I was living alone. The mess is, uh. Not what I’m wondering about.”

Pongorma finally came out and asked the big question. Mostly, he was concerned about the twitch in Somsnosa’s eye that told him she was feeling the urge to squish the worms between her gauntlets. Based on the way Dedusmuln was treating them, they weren’t any ordinary bugs.

“Dedusmuln, what _are_ those things?”

Dedusmuln straightened up, cleaning cloth still in hand. “Oh. They’re my next generation, of course.”

The meaning of that hit Wayne quicker than the other two. He looked between Dedusmuln and the worms. “Wait. You mean, you...you can, uh...”

Dedusmuln began pointing out each worm in turn. “That one’s Lusundem, the eldest. Suldeldum is the runt of the bunch. Lesdulmun is-”

“You had _babies?”_ Somsnosa exclaimed in a belated realization.

Dedusmuln’s tentacles shifted in something between amusement and bashfulness. Wayne noticed that the golden lamellae that had sprouted beneath the green appendages were gone.

“Based on your surprise, I imagine I have some explaining to do.”

After carefully arranging themselves on the couch so that the worms wouldn’t get squished, Dedusmuln elaborated on their species’ life cycle. While at first Wayne worried they might be prying, Dedusmuln seemed eager to share an academic overview on their biology. Dedusmuln loved getting to teach things and share their knowledge. Wayne supposed this wouldn’t be any different. 

“That’s super cool,” Somsnosa admitted after Dedusmuln had finished their impromptu lecture. One of the worms - Wayne couldn’t tell the difference between them, though Dedusmuln made it look easy - was crawling curiously into her lap. Much to Wayne and Pongorma’s relief, she made no move to do anything other than scratch its back. “I gotta ask, though. If you guys reproduce every season, why aren’t there, y’know...more of you?” 

“She’s right,” Wayne said. “We’ve traveled pretty far, and so far the only relative of yours I’ve seen is Smuldunde.”

Dedusmuln cradled two of the worms in their arms. One of them looked to be sleeping, while the other nudged impatiently at their slumbering sibling, eager to...play, or something. Whatever it was baby Dedusmulns did.

“Ah, that’s an important distinction to make!” They explained. “Although our lamellar structures form seasonally, they don’t always bear fruit. Most of the time, they dry up and fall off naturally at the end of the season, never having been used to make kin. This is my first harvest, actually.” They laughed, tentacles twitching. “And likely my last. Although they’ll grow fast, I was unprepared for how much work a hatchling harvest would truly be.”

Wayne cocked his head. “So what changed this time that made you have kids?”

Dedusmuln was so bad at hiding their emotions. Their tentacles tangled in a restless, sheepish gesture, and they turned away from their companions’ gazes. “Well! I...you see...oh, how should I say this...”

“Take your time,” Wayne encouraged them. Somsnosa leaned forward, listening closely as Dedusmuln lowered their voice and continued.

“Our instinct to reproduce is not entirely involuntary, but it can be triggered in the right psychosomatic circumstances. Namely, if we were to, um. If _I_ were to feel a sense of assurance that I had a loyal, trustworthy, and supportive environment... That is, if I were to feel confident that I had found partners who would be suitable, ah, companions to myself...”

Dedusmuln coughed. They looked like they wanted to hide under the couch cushions. “All this is to say, my body considers you three worthy to care for me and my children.”

The room was quiet after that. Until Somsnosa broke the silence with a soft, “Oh man.”

“I understand this is likely shocking to you!” Dedusmuln rushed to explain. “If you find it, um, unpleasant. I understand if you don’t want to-”

“What about you?”

Pongorma spoke up for the first time since they’d moved to the couch. He was staring at Dedusmuln intently.

“Pardon?” Dedusmuln said.

“You said ‘your body’ considers us worthy. What about you? Do you consider us suitable...companions? To you and your children?”

“Of course I do!” Dedusmuln exclaimed without a moment of thought. “To me, you three are-” 

They cut themself off, tentacles folding in embarrassment. “Oh, but, I don’t want to make any of you uncomfortable! I shouldn’t say such things. Ah, let’s...forget that.”

“Don’t wanna,” said Somsnosa. She threw her arm over the scholar’s shoulder, familiar like they always were with each other. 

“I am way too glad you were the one to say it first,” Wayne admitted with a laugh. He laid a gentle hand on Dedusmuln’s arm, mindful of the worms in their grasp. Now both of them were snoozing.

“Truly, I don’t think any of us are uncomfortable with you, Dedusmuln,” Pongorma said. “Although I must admit, I wasn’t expecting...this.” He tensed when a worm crawled up his leg, going totally still.

Dedusmuln’s tentacles relaxed. Their voice was fond as they explained, “You can pick them up.” 

“I don’t want to hurt them.”

“You won’t. Look, they like you!”

The worm nuzzled into the fur of Pongorma’s armor. It made a soft sound, somewhere between the meows of Wayne’s cats and the crinkling squish of overripe flesh.

Somsnosa reached over and poked Wayne. “Why can’t your larvae be that cute?”

He feigned grave offense. “Hey!”

Dedusmuln looked between the three of them. Below and between the ever shifting expressions of their tentacles, Wayne could see a smile.


End file.
